Collection: A Couple of Schmoll's

Steve Schmoll made the 2005 Dodgers Opening Day roster as a reliever (apparently taking over Eric Gagne's spot on the roster, via Dodger Thoughts) and stuck it out the entire season. He was also the very first Logan White signing to make it to the pro's. Schmoll was signed as a free agent out of college by White before the 2003 draft, and played for the Dodgers before Broxton was called up.

Baseball Reference tells me that he had some success as he recorded 3 saves and 9 holds, but had a lofty ERA of 5.01. Then, over the winter he was traded along with Duaner Sanchez for Tim Hamulak and Jae Seo. Schmoll bounced around from there, and it appears that he left the game after the 2008 season. Anyway, I remember thinking that he had a future as a middle reliever in the league, but it appears that that dream has disappeared. Still, how many guys can say they spent an entire season in the "Big Show?" I'm sure his time in Baseball is something he will never forget.

After some brief research I see that he currently operates a group fitness and personal training company called Get Moving Fitness in Brevard County, Florida. Check out his company website here.

In case you're interested to learn more about his job, Sports Medicine Schools offer learning options to students who wish to pursue a career in the field of sports fitness and health.

Featured here are two Steve Schmoll certified autographed cards within my collection. At top is 2005 Upper Deck Signature Prospects card and below that is a 2005 Upper Deck Trilogy Generations Future Signatures card.

Blog Kiosk: 12/13/2011

From the Dodgers Dream Foundation 7th Annual Holiday Ham give-away last night. (pic via Tommy Lasorda's World)

• I just made a great discovery. MLB Trade Rumors has a Baseball Agency Database that you can check out.
  
• You gotta check out the Eephus League Magazine #1. It looks like a very well made vintage Baseball magazine. A preview is here.
  
• No surprise here, "Dodgers' Matt Kemp would win MVP Award Over Ryan Braun in New Vote," via Dylan Hernandez of LA Times.

  Several writers who voted for Braun said they would cast their ballots for Kemp in a revote, but a majority of reporters contacted by The Times —15 of the 20 — were against voting again, and two were unsure.

• Sully explains why Angels fans suck.

  And that my friends is the Cardinals fans worst fear.
  Not only did they lose Albert Pujols, but they lost him to an indifferent fan base.
  
  Sorry Angel fans. That's your reputation. The Angels have a fan base that does indeed show up to the games but needs a monkey to tell them when to cheer.

• At arbitration deadline, Dodgers tender contracts to Loney, Kershaw and Ethier. Kuo was non-tendered. Via @Dodgers tweet. I suspect that Kuo will still stay with the Dodgers at a reduced contract.
• River Avenue Blues has a nice analysis on recently posted Japanese hurler Yu Darvish.

  This season he was a lot better. The most obvious difference was his fastball velocity, which was more consistently around 94 and touched 97 on his best days. His cutter seemed to take a step forward this year, giving him three pitches above 90 mph with movement (2-seamer, 4-seamer, cutter).

• John Rocker was on steroids... You don't say. Via Hardball Talk.
  
• Kings GM places blame for poor season and the recent firing of the coach on the players shoulders, via Frozen Royalty.

  “It’s simple,” said Lombardi. “It sounds cliche, but it’s true. Ultimately, the message is that they’re accountable. Unfortunately, the coach has to pay the price. But make no mistake. They’re the ones who are accountable for this.”

• The Kings are zeroing in on Darryl Sutter as their new head coach. Via LA Kings Insider,

  "The Kings have sought permission from the Calgary Flames to speak with Darryl Sutter as Terry Murray’s replacement, a source said this morning"

• A blast from the past. Here is a vintage commercial from 1990 featuring Tommy Lasorda, Mickey Mantle, Sparky Anderson, and several other athletes for Kuppenheimer Men's Clothier. Kuppenheimer was eventually bought out by the Men's Wearhouse.
  

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Dodgers Skip Arbitration and Decide to Just Sign Gwynn

Steve Dilbeck made a case this morning that the Dodgers should tender Gwynn a contract and go to arbitration. Well, they must been listening because they not only tendered a contract, but they completed a two year deal for him to stay in Blue. Dylan Hernandez has financial details. Affordable while effective is what I would say about this signing. Welcome back to the Blue, Tony! Below is an excerpt from the Dodger Press Release:

The versatile outfielder appeared in a career-high 136 games at all three outfield positions with the Dodgers last year in his first season with the club and posted a .907 zone rating, which tied for second among qualifying National League outfielders. The 29-year-old ranked among the league leaders with a .993 fielding percentage, tying for ninth among NL outfielders with just one error in 677.0 innings, and tied for 15^th on the circuit with eight outfield assists. Gwynn averaged 0.11 assists per 9.0 innings, which led National League outfielders.

At the plate, Gwynn batted .256 and posted career-best marks with 12 doubles, 22 stolen bases and 22 RBIs. He also tied with Jamey Carroll for the team lead with a career high-tying six triples. The left-handed hitter batted .333 (8-for-24) in 27 appearances as a pinch-hitter, tying for the seventh-highest mark in the Majors, and has a .288 career batting average in that role.

(Above Pic Link: Jon SooHoo)

LA Kings Ax Their Coach

After much speculation on Kings blogs over the past several weeks and a final hatchet from Helene Elliott at the LA Times yesterday reporting that the

"Kings executives are poised to dismiss Coach Terry Murray this week,"

they finally do the inevitable. The Kings coach of over 3 years was officially let go today, via the Kings official blog. John Stevens, the previous assistant coach, has been named the interim coach until a long term replacement can be found. Much will be said over the coming days over who should be the replacement, but I will defer to the King offical blog reporter Rich Hammond who speculates that Darryl Sutter may be in our sights.

Keep an eye on the whereabouts of Darryl Sutter in the next few days. Dean Lombardi is very close with Sutter and, as GM in San Jose, hired Sutter in 1997. Sutter left the coaching ranks after the 2005-06 season, as he went from coach/GM to GM, and he left that role last December. I’ll never forget the exchange I had with Lombardi, at the press conference to announce his hiring as Kings’ GM in 2006. It went like this…

Question: “In terms of qualities, what will you be looking for in a coach?”

Lombardi: “Darryl.”

Something had to be done. The Kings are way too talented to be playing so poorly. Besides, you had to figure it wouldn't work out considering the haircut Terry Murray once sported in the 70's (see the vintage card above) That's just embarrassing. Fortunately, the Kings are still in the thick of the race and can easily bounce back to meet the expectations placed on them early on in the season.

Blog Kiosk: 12/12/2001

• For a really good explanation of the whole PED testing process and the current Braun situation read Will Carroll's SI story on the matter. He also follows up on his tumblr account, here.

  At this stage, several things are unclear. There are conflicting reports as to whether Braun's "B" sample was tested and showed exogenous testosterone. There are also reports of a second drug test, requested by Braun, that did not "test positive." I put that last in quotes because it's confusing. Remember, the "A" sample is merely a trigger. If Braun was re-tested and showed a T/E ratio below 4:1, that is not correctly called a negative test.

• Steve Dilbeck with the LA Times declares that the 'Dodgers Need to Tender Tony Gwynn, Jr.'

  Gwynn played more than expected (a career-high 136 games) and better than most anticipated. He was as strong as advertised defensively, a little better than expected offensively and stole 22 bases.

• Check out this great video of a fan at a Celtics game dancing for the crowd. Pretty great stuff, via Wimp.com.
  
• Topps names the SF Giants the organization of the year, via Sports Collectors Digest. The Dodgers won it last year- they are 6 time winners.
  
• The Pujols market in St. Louis is dead. Stores can't even give away jerseys for free, via Sports Collectors Daily.
  
• LA Kings are coming close to firing their coach, via Helene Elliott of LA Times. I hope it stops their downward spiral.
  
• BNGamesReviews was at 'Nuke the Fridge Con' as has a full report.
  

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• Here Stan Lee and Mike Tyson share the stage.

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The Dodgers: You Make Me Happy

OK. I admit to trying to fool you with the title of this post. I thought it would be fun to put up this great single I found over the weekend on youtube. It is a 1954 recording on Aladdin of a song called 'You Make Me Happy,' and it is song by a doo-wop group called the Dodgers. That's right. There was a singing ensemble named after our favorite club. On top of that, this is a really great tune.

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